Space Exploration
What is the underlying reason for the eventual increase in disorder in all systems?
If you sense that the world is descending into chaos, your intuition is accurate. Whether your observation pertains to politics and society or not, it is undeniable that on the cosmic timescale, order is deteriorating. That is its consistent behavior. But why?
Entropy is referred to as the measure of disorder in a system by physicists. From a scientific standpoint, it is described as the quantification of the energy within a system or process that cannot be utilized for performing tasks. Some people describe it as the level of unpredictability or lack of organization in a system. Regardless of the approach, the outcome remains unchanged.
The second law of thermodynamics affirms that the entropy of an isolated system cannot decrease. Given the dynamic nature of any work being done, it is evident that entropy in a closed system is in a constant state of increase. Given the closed nature of the universe, it follows that its entropy is inevitably increasing.
Exploring the reasons behind this can prompt inquiries into the inherent characteristics of the universe and the potential variations that could have occurred if circumstances had been slightly different. It is uncertain whether this question can be answered at present, and it may remain unanswered indefinitely. However, it is reasonable to suggest that in a hypothetical universe with slightly altered laws of physics, we may discover that our previous assumptions were incorrect and ultimately observe an unavoidable inclination towards disorder.
Arthur Eddington, a renowned physicist known for his groundbreaking confirmation of general relativity, once shared a valuable piece of advice with his students. He believed that the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states that entropy always increases, held unparalleled significance among the laws of nature.
If someone were to bring to your attention that your personal theory of the universe contradicts Maxwell’s equations, then it would be unfortunate for Maxwell’s equations. If observation contradicts it, well, experimentalists occasionally make mistakes. If your theory is discovered to contradict the second law of thermodynamics, there is no hope for it. You will have no choice but to face the inevitable humiliation.
This quote continues to be remembered over a century later, as it remains steadfast while other principles of physics from Eddington’s time have fallen.
Understanding the second law
For someone new to the field of physics, understanding the second law of thermodynamics can be challenging. This law is often explained in ways that do not explicitly mention entropy, making it difficult to fully grasp its importance.
One way to explain the law is by stating the seemingly obvious fact that heat naturally moves from a hotter area to a colder one. It is indeed possible to reverse this process. Air conditioners work by cooling down the indoor space, which is typically cooler than the outside environment where the heat is released. However, accomplishing that requires a significant amount of effort, as is evident to anyone who receives their electricity bill after a summer of running the air conditioning.
Understanding the connection between this observation and entropy may not be immediately apparent, but it becomes more evident when we consider the other side of the law: the fact that not all the heat in a system can be converted into useful work in a cyclic process. No engine can achieve complete efficiency in converting heat into other forms of energy, let alone surpass it.
The inefficiency results in increased waste heat, leading to a higher amount of disordered molecules and overall entropy. Just as a biophysicist would observe, an engine has the ability to enhance the organization within a system. However, this improvement comes at the expense of generating additional chaos in its surroundings.
Even though discussions about heat transfer and engine efficiency may appear theoretical, the second law of thermodynamics is a means of expressing a concept that is well-known in other disciplines: nothing comes for free.
If the second law of thermodynamics did not hold true, the concept of free lunches would be applicable to everyone in the universe. It is possible to extract more energy from an operation than what was initially invested. It’s tempting to envision such a scenario, but for many of us, it seems instinctively clear that the universe doesn’t owe us anything, especially not a life without challenges.
There are individuals who do not acknowledge Eddington’s caution. Every year, patent offices and physics departments worldwide are inundated with messages from individuals asserting that they have created a perpetual motion machine. Some of these operate by harnessing the energy emitted by the sun or another external source, which is akin to a free lunch in terms of its availability. Due to the Earth’s interaction with external energy sources like sunlight and cosmic rays from space, which the planet absorbs and emits, these phenomena do not violate the second law of thermodynamics.
Harnessing the power of the sun, nature has been efficiently utilizing incoming energy to promote order on Earth for countless years. While plants and photosynthesizing algae have mastered this process, our solar panels are gradually advancing to keep pace. However, when viewed in a larger context, the increased entropy that the sun produces as a result of molecular fusion to produce heat overshadows any advancements made in fighting disorder.
Building a perpetual motion machine that operates without external energy goes against the second law of thermodynamics. If we were able to create numerous such machines, it would potentially lead to a more ordered universe, contradicting the natural increase of entropy. Many individuals, including renowned physicists, have made numerous attempts.
James Clerk Maxwell, the brilliant mind behind the equations Eddington mentioned, put forth the concept of a tiny entity, later playfully called Maxwell’s demon, which had the potential to create a perpetual motion machine by organizing molecules. It took many years to demonstrate the impossibility of this, even though the field of quantum physics still adds complexity to the matter.
Countless individuals have made bold assertions of triumph in the face of Maxwell’s failure, yet none have truly achieved it. The second law remains unchallenged.
There is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the ultimate destiny of the universe. There are certain models that suggest the possibility of the second law no longer having absolute control over our existence. At this stage, the most probable outcome for everything to conclude is the rather disheartening “heat death of the universe,” where energy is uniformly dispersed and entropy triumphs over all.
Engineering
Gravitational wave research helps clear up the mystery of the ancient Antikythera mechanism
People have been interested in the Antikythera mechanism for more than 120 years, and new research has shed more light on this amazing machine in recent years. The pieces that are still there show that it was probably used to figure out things like eclipses and where the planets were in the sky. With some statistical methods that are often used in gravitational wave research, astronomers from the University of Glasgow have found more proof that it is linked to the Moon.
Professor Graham Woan and Dr. Joseph Bayley each used a different method after an interesting X-ray analysis of the object was done years ago. Some people don’t know how many holes are in one of the rings, which is thought to be a calendar. There is only a small piece of the ring left, and it’s hard to say for sure what it is because it spent 2,000 years underwater.
Based on the X-ray data, Woan and Bayley used bayesian statistics to determine how many holes there were in the rings. The most likely number was either 354 or 355 holes, they found. Around 354 days make up a lunar calendar. Based on the research, this number is 100 times more likely than 360 holes, which is what the Egyptian solar calendar has. This means that a 365-hole ring, which would be like a real solar year, is very unlikely.
“Towards the end of last year, a colleague showed me data that YouTuber Chris Budiselic had collected. Budiselic was trying to make a copy of the calendar ring and was looking into ways to find out how many holes it had,” Professor Woan said in a statement. “I thought it was an interesting problem that I might be able to solve in a new way over the Christmas break, so I started using some statistical methods to find the answer.”
The Markov Chain Monte Carlo and nested sampling methods were used. These are common ways to figure out how likely one result is given incomplete data. These techniques lead us to believe that the whole ring was 77.1 millimeters across and had either 354 or 355 holes spaced 0.028 millimeters apart.
“Previous research had suggested that the calendar ring probably followed the lunar calendar, but the two methods we used in this project make it much more likely that this was the case,” Dr. Bayley said. “It’s made me appreciate the Antikythera mechanism and the work and care that Greek craftsmen put into making it even more. To punch the holes so precisely, they would have needed to be measured very accurately and punched with a very steady hand.”
The study has been written up in The Horological Journal.
The first samples ever taken from the far side of the moon have been opened by scientists in China.
Chang’e 6 softly landed on the far side of the moon on June 1. It was the second time China had done this, and they are still the only country to have done it.
China just landed a probe on the far side of the Moon – this time nearer the south pole, to gather volcanic samples using a scoop and drill, and blast them back to Earth. They've partnered with Sweden, France and Italy. Proving the tech needed to land Chinese astronauts by 2030. pic.twitter.com/Yf5wW8EQMK
— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) June 2, 2024
The lander brought something back for the European Space Agency (ESA): a negative ion detector. This detector has already picked up negative ions as they are thrown up by the lunar surface.
Author Martin Wieser said in a statement, “These observations on the Moon will help us better understand the surface environment and act as a pathfinder to explore negative ion populations in other airless bodies in the Solar System, from planets to asteroids and other moons.”
But the main goal of the mission is to bring back the first samples from the far side of the Moon. On Tuesday, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) landed in the Inner Mongolia desert to do just that. It was flown to Beijing on Wednesday, and at the China Academy of Space Technology, it was opened.
Researchers from all over China who have applied for access will sort the samples before they are studied. Scientists from around the world might be able to use this after two years, according to Space.com.
“One of the most fundamental questions in lunar research”—what geologic activity is responsible for the differences between the two sides of the Moon—is what Zongyu Yue, a geologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, told the South China Morning Post. This is what the samples are meant to do.
Even though it’s called the “dark side” of the moon, the far side gets about the same amount of sunlight. But there are big differences between them, which we found out when we started traveling through space.
The Moon’s far side has many craters, but not as many deep basins and “lunar seas” as its near side. In 2012, the Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission measured that the far side’s crust was thicker. It also seems to be more conductive, which is strange.
There are several ideas about how the sides got to be so different. One is that Earth used to have two moons that orbited it and crashed into each other early in its history. Another is that a dwarf planet later crashed into a smaller Earth moon.
You can study the far side of the moon from space, but there’s nothing better than taking samples yourself. Scientists hope that the samples will help them figure out how the moon formed. They also think that the samples might contain water, oxygen, and hydrogen that can be used for future missions.
Space Exploration
More proof that asteroid Bennu came from a wet world comes from “tantalizingly beautiful” rocks
The sample that OSIRIS-REx took from the asteroid Bennu continues to give us new information about the past of this small space rock and the early Solar System. After the sample was opened a few weeks ago, signs began to appear that Bennu may have had a wet past. There is now another finding to add to that.
Researchers have said that magnesium-sodium phosphate has been found. It came as a surprise because the ship hadn’t seen it from orbit. It makes the case for Bennu being a broken piece of a much bigger, primitive ocean world even stronger.
The Japanese Space Agency’s Hayabusa-2 picked up a piece of an asteroid from Ryugu and found phosphate minerals on it. Earth rocks have also had them in them. But the Bennu sample stands out because the grains are so pure and big.
An asteroid called Bennu may have been wet in the past because of the phosphates and other elements and compounds that are found on it. Dante Lauretta, co-lead author of the paper and chief scientist for OSIRIS-REx at the University of Arizona, Tucson, said this in a statement. “Bennu might have lived in a wetter world in the past.” But this hypothesis needs to be looked into more.
One of the people who worked on the study and is in charge of OSIRIS-REx at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, said, “OSIRIS-REx gave us exactly what we hoped for: a large, clean asteroid sample rich in nitrogen and carbon from a world that used to be wet.”
For many reasons, the team thinks of Bennu as a part of the ocean world. For example, serpentinite is present. This is a type of rock that forms when hot rocks meet water, like on Earth’s mid-ocean ridges. Additionally, a lot of the substances that dissolve appear to have moved with the help of water. The fact that phosphates are real can be added to that list.
The team suggests a body with a lot of liquid water, maybe with a hard or icy exterior. A good example is Enceladus, Saturn’s icy moon. Bennu’s parent body would be about 250 kilometers (155 miles) across, which is half of it. In the past, objects have struck the 1,630-foot-wide Bennu, which measures 500 meters.
“We are still thinking of ways to test [the wet parent body hypothesis].” But, according to Professor Lauretta, it’s the most likely place where these rocks formed. He said this in an exclusive chat in March.
The sample is still being sent to labs in the US and around the world. The valuable material was being moved around for a long time before it arrived. The team shared 58 results from the first study in March, and every week there are new discoveries. It will be possible to get even more science as the number of scientists grows.
“The rocks from Bennu are enticingly beautiful,” said Harold Connolly, who is the co-lead author of the study and a sample scientist for the OSIRIS-REx mission at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. “Every week, the OSIRIS-REx Sample Analysis Team finds new, sometimes surprising information that helps us understand where Earth-like planets came from and how they changed over time.”
The study is written up in the Meteoritics & Planetary Science magazine.
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